Sky

Aerick had snuck a box of muffins for Sky as a favor so as they walked hand in hand down the street Jonas was munching on them. Sky wasn't all that hungry and was content with just being in the young man's presence. Jonas just had these nice brown eyes that shined when the light hit them just right. They held a certain kind, intelligence in them that one hardly ever comes across nowadays, especially coupled together. Taking another bite from one of the muffins Jonas said, "I'm not really a dog or cat person."

"Hmm?" Sky blinked, embrassed to find that he'd been staring at the man.

Adjusting his grip on Sky's hand Jonas swallowed his bite. "I'm not really good with animals. I mean they're alright, but liking dogs and owning one are two different things."

"Well there goes my fantasy of being a co-doggy daddy," Sky sighed, watching as Jonas' eyes widened and a blush spread like wildfire. Seeing that he'd rendered the young man speechless Sky rubbed his arm against Jonas' and said, "I'm only joking."

"Whatever," Jonas turned away, pouting a little. "As I was saying. I never really got to have many pets growing up. I was always moving around a lot. I've always wanted one though."

"A dog?" Sky asked, looking hopeful, seemingly forgetting Jonas previous declaration.

"No. A fish," Jonas deadpanned.

Gaping down at the young man Sky blinked. Did he hear him right? Sky couldn't tell the difference between when Jonas was being sarcastic or not but the frown that was slowly claiming Jonas' features lead Sky to believe he was serious.

"You want a fish?" Sky asked, raising a brow at the young man who was still holding his hand.

Biting into his muffin Jonas shrugged. "That or a hamster. We used to have fish but after they all died my pops decided they were too much of a hassle and I don't like to ask for anything."

"Why not? It's just fish."

"I dunno. Growing up I- we moved around a lot, I mentioned that. And... we had them at one point but then we moved and we couldn't take them with us because it's a lot harder to move fish around and it takes time. The water has to be a certain temperature and there's all this waiting, ect... And we just left them."

What Jonas said made no sense to Sky though. "So you had fish before the other set died or..."

Jonas gave a weak nod that caused an ache in Sky's chest. He didn't want to pry though. He could tell that having to explain it was making the young man uncomfortable so giving his hand a squeeze Sky brought his hand up to his lips. Jonas blinked up at Sky as he kissed the back of his hand.

"Don't... don't do that." Jonas frowned though he didn't pull away. "I'm... I'm not good at opening up. I mean you said you wanted to get to know me but to be honest I'm scared that when you do you'll realize you're better off not knowing me."

"Jonas..." Sky frowned, taking on that tone his mother used to use on him whenever he was being down on himself. "You don't have anything to be ashamed of. I mean I balled my eyes out to you on the phone. I made an ass of myself when I jumped you the other day. And here I am making you uncomfortable again..." Stopping Sky let out a sigh. "Jonas you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to right now, you're not obligated to give those parts of yourself away to me. We can start small. Uh... what was the name of your first fish?"

Now it was Jonas' turn to be surprised. Regaining his composure Jonas snorted. "Copernicus."

"Copernicus?" Sky raised a brow. "How old were you then?"

"Like, thirteen..." Jonas shrugged."None of the fish had names so I named them after scientists or mathematicians or philosophers and stuff. Like Copernicus was named because I just thought it was funny to name a fish that. Plus at one  point there was a backdrop of the solar system inside the tank. I don't know why but the backdrop was changed quiet a few times and yet nobody had the patientence to clean it."

Nodding his head Sky smiled. "Then what was another name you gave them?"

"Uh, I think I named one of them after a conquerer or something. Mostly cause he was an ass hole and kept stealing the other fishes' food. Then there was Marie Curie and I named a few after some of the elements cause one of the neighborhood girls was really into chemistry and was always telling us who discovered what element and fun facts about said element. One was Nickle cause he looked silver, another Neon, Krypton, and I think maybe Copper and Potassium."

"You named a fish Potassium?"

"Most of this was because I thought it'd be hilarious. Like, there's no rhyme or reason for naming a fish Potassium but then again who the hell's gonna stop me?"

"I really wanna kiss you right now."

To Sky's surprise Jonas only smirked. "What's stopping you?"

Pleasantly surprised Sky leaned down, lips curving into a soft smile as he exhaled. It was a soft swift kiss that still managed to render Sky speechless. The two of them walked a whole two blocks in silence afterwards, just holding hands and enjoying the others presence. The two ended up walking for quiet a while before realizing they hadn't come to a decision on where they planned to spend the afternoon.

Sky was craving something sweet and upon Jonas' suggestion they visited the little bakery the young man had taken him to that fateful night. Jonas had completely dissemantled the four muffins Aerick had gotten for them but his appetite was far from satiated. Feeling a little bad but very self conscious of how much he'd been spending on the young man Sky didn't argue when Jonas said he'd pay.

"The fish belonged to one of my foster families," Jonas said out of nowhere as they stood in front of the display case full of sweet pastries and miniature cakes. The smell was amazing, scents like vanilla and chocolate and lemon and a bunch others all managing to clash beautifully. Sky looked over at Jonas, ready to reassure the man that he doesn't have to explain himself. But then he saw the soft smile gracing Jonas' lips and he stopped himself. "I was with them for almost three months before we realized that the place wasn't for me but the only reason I didn't leave sooner was because I was scared. I mean what if I ended up some place worse? But yeah, they had this small tank full  of the prettiest fish. My favorite was this goldfish that looked a little plain compared to the other ones in the tank. That was the one I named Potassium. I still don't know why I named it that, that's probably the stupidest fucking thing ever but I just thought it was the funniest."

"You've been through a lot huh?" Sky said, tightening his grip on Jonas' hand the slightest bit.

"Yeah. That's why I don't get how you're so... trusting. I don't mean anything by it but you don't know me-"

"But I want to."

"Yet you still trust me this much."

"You want me to be honest. I didn't just agree to that date because of free food. I mean I won't lie I kinda had a crush on you. I mean the first day I saw you out there I didn't say anything and then you came out of nowhere and dropped my takeout all over the bus floor and suddenly I was reevaluating my taste in men."

"Yeah... I'm still sorry about that."

"It's fine. I'm kind of glad you kept bumping into me. Otherwise this wouldn't have happened."

"I gave you a bloody nose."

"Pssh, minor setback."

Rolling his eyes Jonas looked forward. Maybe the young man was right. This wasn't Belcourt, some small town with barely a thousand people who all knew each other by name. This was the city, where you neighbor wasn't your childhood best friend but just the cranky guy from next door who you've never once had a conversation with. Maybe this little friendship he and Jonas had was the result of Sky's loneliness and he was just latching on to the nearest human being that showed interest and once Jonas realized he'd had enough he'd be alone again.

Sighing Schuyler thought back on his therapy session and frowned. Why did he feel so tired all the time? It just wasn't fair.

"Hey Sky," Jonas said, snatching him away from his thoughts. That quirky little smile of his was back but for some reason it didn't elicit the same response from the tired man.

"Yeah?" Sky mumbled, raising a brow.

"We should hang out like this more often. This is really nice, it felt good talking to you like that."

Truth be told Sky honestly wanted to just curl up and go to sleep but he could stand the weather a little longer for Jonas' sake. Smirking to himself a little he nodded. "Sounds like a plan."